Dexatrim & Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH) Lawsuit

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A large number of experts have expressed concern in recent years about the association between some popular diet drugs and the development of a life threatening condition known as pulmonary arterial hypertension. Pulmonary arterial hypertension is considered a rare condition, affecting around 100,000 people worldwide, but the condition has no known cure and commonly results in the death of the people affected by the condition. It is estimated that the average survival rate for individuals diagnosed with the condition is death within the first three years after the person has received a diagnosis of pulmonary arterial hypertension.

The association between taking certain types of diet drugs and the development of pulmonary arterial hypertension is worrying because of the large numbers of individuals that have taken these diet drugs and the extended amount of time that symptoms of the condition take to appear. The association between pulmonary arterial hypertension and diet drugs generally center on the ingredients used to make the dietary supplement. One of the agents most well known as a contributor to the development of the condition is ephedra, which could be found in numerous diet medications, including Dexatrim, before the use of the agent was restricted by the US Food and Drug Administration.

Dexatrim has been a very popular weight loss agent in the United States for the last quarter of a century. Individuals that have used the diet drug believe that the medication is an effective appetite suppressant and helps the body burn calories and fat at a faster rate than what would be possible if the individual was not taking Dexatrim. The formulation that is on the market today is completely free of ephedrine, which was removed from the diet drug when the FDA banned the substance from use in 2004.

Prior to the FDA’s action banning ephedra and the chemical equivalent ephedrine from use in dietary supplements, the formulation of Dexatrim contained a significant amount of the dangerous substance in each dose of the medication. Numerous reports of the development of cases of pulmonary arterial hypertension and other life threatening illnesses have been associated with the ingestion of ephedra over the years and many more cases surface each year. The number of individuals that have died from complications associated with the use of products containing ephedra and ephedrine is estimated to be in the tens of thousands.

Dexatrim is manufactured by Chettem Inc. and has been recalled twice in recent years; once because of the recall of all medications and dietary supplements containing ephedra and ephedrine and once because the products were found to contain phenylpropanolamine (PPA), a chemical agent strongly linked to an increased risk of stroke which was banned from use by the FDA in 2001. Today, Dexatrim is comprised of a proprietary blend of herbal ingredients, vitamins, and minerals that is used to assist a significant portion of the population in maintaining and reducing their weight. Although the new formulation of the dietary supplement has not been linked to the development of pulmonary arterial hypertension, any individual that took the medication prior to the omission of ephedrine from the medication may still be at risk for developing the serious and severe condition.

Do I have a Dexatrim or Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Lawsuit?

The Defective Drug Litigation Group at our law firm is an experienced team of trial lawyers that focus exclusively on the representation of plaintiffs in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH), Primary Pulmonary Hypertension (PPH) and Idiopathic Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (IPAH) lawsuits. We are handling individual litigation nationwide and currently accepting new Ephedra cases in all 50 states.

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